The Money Trap
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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When everything is stripped away, our survival in life comes down to one thing: money. It buys us the food and water that we need to sustain ourselves and can put things like shelter and medication into our hands. If that was all that money did, there would be no problem with it. But money doesn't just buy survival, it buys power and in that lies the root of its evil.
The next time you pick up a magazine, do yourself a favor and when you glance through the pages, look at the faces. Chances are 99% of those featured are wealthy. We care about what Paris Hilton did this morning, but don't look twice at our neighbor. We watch a show to hear Donald Trump say "you're fired", but often couldn't care less about what many of the homeless have to say.
Money gives power, it gives status, and it something that we crave. Money is intoxicating and it has the power to destroy us like little else can in this world.
The desire for more money can cause a parent to ignore their family in order to get a head. It can cause people to hurt those around them, just for the hope of gaining more. The lure of money can draw people to act dishonesty, to marry someone they don't love, or stay where they aren't supposed to be just for the security. Money can consume our minds and hearts until it takes over our lives. It can slowly turn us into people who we don't like.
It's little wonder why the Bible says that the love of money is the root of evil. When you choose money as something to pursue, you are never satisfied and in your chase for more, leave a trainwreck behind.
Think about it. How many people go through life unhappy because they don't possess more? And when they do, it never satisfies. And how many times have you seen people hesitate to take a step of faith because they were afraid of the financial ramifications? Sadly it happens all too often.
So where does that leave us? I'd say in a place where we'd better be very careful of how we view money. If we view it as a tool to supply what we need and to bless others, it remains in it's rightful place. But the second we start looking at money as something that "opens doors" or "provides security" or "fulfills", we're in trouble because we just created a god with a five letter name: money.
Maybe that's why the Bible is so insistent on the concept of tithing. Because it's often in letting go of that little that money is put into prospective and we see that it is nothing more than a gift that God has placed in our hands that He expects us to use wisely. Not to horde, but to bless others.
When that's our mindset, suddenly the worries we have about money are released and we are free to live knowing that we serve a God who's in the business of providing needs. And we can be a part of the miracle of meeting the needs of others when we're open to give God just a small portion back.
If the love of money is the root of all evil, then maybe, just maybe, the unaffection of money is the starting ground for holiness.
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.